Clara Edwards
Clara Edwards is Aunt Bee's closest friend, though sometimes rival, and one of Mayberry's notable busybodies. She is played by actress Hope Summers in 32 episodes of The Andy Griffith Show and 5 episodes of Mayberry R.F.D. She is known as "Bertha Edwards" in her first appearance, "Bertha Johnson" in her second, "Clara Johnson" in her third, and thereafter as "Clara Edwards". Civic Involvement Completing her busy-bodied nature, Clara is extensively involved with many social organizations in Mayberry. She takes pride in being a descent of the town's founders. [1] Church Clara serves as the organist and choir director of All Soul's Church's choir. She also serves on the church's bazaar committee, helping organize and administrate the annual event. [8] She and Bee Taylor represented the choir to the church's finance committee when it was bequeathed $500. This put them toe-to-toe with Emmett Clark of the church's building committee, who advocated for the money to spent on leveling the church's foundation, and Elmo, who wanted a pool table. Bee and Clara advocated the money be spent on new choir robes and the finance committee eventually agreed to their request after thorough deliberation. [8] The Town of Mayberry As of "Mayberry R.F.D.", Clara serves on the town council. She also served as a member of a town committee to build a statue in honor of Bee and Andy Taylor's ancestor, Seth Taylor. [4] She was a fierce advocate of Seth's good-standing reputation. Music & Theatre Clara is known for her acting in Mayberry plays, her favorite part being "Lady Mayberry". She plays this role every year in Mayberry's founding day pageant. The Pageant She received a formal discipline in oral interpretation and elocution at Miss Baker's Finishing School, and had personalized theatrical training with Mr. Danforth Meriwether Brown, the later of whom she regarded as Shakespearian. 1 She also plays the piano and serves as a piano teacher, having taught several Mayberry youth, including Opie Taylor. Opie's Piano Lesson She later joins Opie's band as their pianist / manager. [5] Bee and Clara co-write the song "My Hometown", which was later featured on Keevy Hazelton's television program. [5] Bee and Clara later volunteered to mend Mayberry's band's uniforms in preparation for a concert. [6] Political Advocacy Bee and Clara insisted that Andy "do something" about a risqué harem dance being performed at a traveling carnival. [7] Their insistences eventually led to the closure of the show. Alongside several other townsfolk, Clara advocates that Andy allow a group of traveling gypsies to sell their wares in Mayberry in order to lift a curse the gypsies imposed on the town. Unlike the previous instance, though, Andy is able to convince Clara and the others to come to their senses rather than act on their demands. [8] A similar situation occurred when Dr. Thomas Petersen, a new young doctor, arrived in Mayberry to replace retiring Dr. Bennett. Clara and Floyd Lawson insisted Andy make preparations in the event of a medical emergency in Mayberry due to their distrust of Dr. Petersen for his lack of experience. Andy was eventually able to convince both Clara and Floyd that Dr. Petersen was a competent medical practitioner. Clara endorsed Bee for a seat on the town council during her run against Howard Sprague. [9] Clara essentially serves as Bee's campaign manager throughout Bee's campaign, but Bee eventually withdraws and endorses Howard. Clara follows suit. She joins Bee yet again to advocate against the expansion of a road into Bee's favorite forest. [12] Other Involvement Clara has a passion for making homemade pickles and entering them in the yearly competition at the fair. She has won an astonishing twelve years in a row. She is proud of her prize ribbons and shows them off to Andy Taylor, explaining that the competition means more to her than just winning; she finds comfort in the ribbons after the passing of her husband. The Pickle Story Clara serves as president of the Mayberry Gardening Club and is renowned for regularly winning the club's annual prize for roses. [12] Relationships Family Her widow's name is never mentioned, but Clara was married at one point, and has one son, Gale, presumably from her widowed husband. She has a likewise unnamed brother who is the father of her adult nephew, Ferdie. [5] Friends The Taylor Family Aunt Bee Taylor and Clara attended high school together and both served on the school's basketball team. [12] Both agree that whereas Bee carried the team, Clara was the best dribbler. Whereas she and Bee have a strong friendship, there are not immune to competition against one another and have been known to abandon their friendly ways in the name of competition. Her nosiness sometimes creates friction between Bee and her nephew, Andy Taylor, often to Andy's chagrin. [7] Despite this, she and Andy typically have a warm relationship. This likewise true for her and Opie Taylor. She went so far as to care for the two while Bee was away in "Andy and Opie Housekeepers". Other Friends Emmett Clark thinks highly enough of Clara to personally deliver the heating pad he was repairing for her rather than having her come into his Fix-It Shop like most of his other patrons. Clara frequently requests Emmett repair things for her. Warren Ferguson arrests Clara in "The Bazaar" for operating what Warren alleges is an illegal gambling ring. Her arrest outrages her and she vehemently chastises Warren alongside the other women who were arrested. This blimp in the relationship seemed not to have tarnished it, though, as they were later friendly with one another. Barney Fife is often seen with Clara during her time with the Taylor family. The two generally get along, though do poke fun at one another at times. Clara sees Barney as a serious lawman and therefore failed to take him seriously when he resigned from his position as deputy to sell vacuum cleaners. [9] Mrs. Foster invited Clara to a luncheon, but she was unable to attend. Floyd Lawson and Clara appear to be old friends given their lifetime residence in Mayberry. They oftentimes share company with one another at the Taylor House. Clara and Floyd united together to oppose Dr. Thomas Petersen as Mayberry's new town doctor, but were ultimately convinced of his competence by Andy. [18] Myrtle is another one of Clara's friends. She joined Clara and Bee on their trip to Mexico, though all three began squabbling with one another during the trip. The three eventually reconciled and resumed their normal friendships. [7] Howard Sprague and Clara often in each other's company due to their similar interests and friend groups. Howard, however, created a temporary rift between the two when he ridiculed Mayberry and its citizens on television. [11] Clara later realized Howard's comments were satire and praised him for his performance. She does not, however, consider Howard a fighter and objects to his appointment as a representative of Mayberry on a New York City talk show due to her reservations that he would not be able to defend Mayberry adequately. 1The Panel Show Myra Tucker and Clara share a friendship. They serve on the committee that organizes the church bazaar together. The two also united in isolating Bee after she won several prizes on a television show, though they eventually all reconciled. [14] Millie Swanson was selected by the All Souls Church's charity fund committee to replace Clara as producer of the Sunday school play. 1The Church Play This created friction between Clara and Millie, culminating in Clara revealing to the committee that Millie was a former chorus girl in risqué performances. The sweetness of the children's acting eventually melted Clara's reservations about Millie and the two resumed cordial relations. Romantic Interests Clara dated Clark Cooper for at least five years, but appears to have ended that relationship before her acquaintanceship with Harlan Robinson as she musically seduced him into selling his organ at a reduced rate. 9 She competed with Bee for the affection of Hubert St. John during his visit to Mayberry. [10] She and Bee likewise competed for the affection of visiting Reverend Leighton during a similar visit to Mayberry. Bee attracted more affection in both instances. She also expressed romantic interest in Fred Goss despite previously recommended him as a suitor to Bee. Appearances The Andy Griffith Show Season 1-''' *Andy and Opie Housekeepers *Andy Forecloses - as "Bertha" 'Season 2-' *Barney's Replacement *The Pickle Story - as "Ms. Johnson" *Aunt Bee the Warden *Wedding Bells for Aunt Bee 'Season 3-' *The Bed Jacket 'Season 4-' *The Sermon for Today *Bargain Day 'Season 5-' *The Pageant *Aunt Bee's Invisible Beau *Banjo-Playing Deputy 'Season 6-' *Andy's Rival (mentioned) *Aunt Bee the Swinger (mentioned) *The Bazaar *Aunt Bee on TV *The Church Organ *Lost and Found *The Gypsies *The Battle of Mayberry *A Singer in Town 'Season 7-' *Aunt Bee's Crowning Glory *Politics Begin at Home *Only a Rose *A New Doctor in Town *The Statue *Opie's Piano Lesson *Howard the Comedian 'Season 8-' *A Trip to Mexico *Opie's Group *Aunt Bee and the Lecturer *Aunt Bee's Cousin *The Church Benefactors *Mayberry R.F.D. Mayberry R.F.D. 'Season 1-' *The Panel Show *The Church Play 'Season 2-' *The Mayberry Road *The Mayberry Float 'Season 3-' *The New Housekeeper Image Gallery :Gallery of Clara Edwards''' Videos Category:The Andy Griffith Show Characters Category:Mayberry R.F.D. Characters Category:Criminals or Prisoners Category:Season 1 Characters Category:Season 2 Characters Category:Season 3 Characters Category:Season 4 Characters Category:Season 5 Characters Category:Season 6 Characters Category:Season 7 Characters Category:Season 8 Characters